Sunday, August 26, 2012

Quick and Delish: Back to School Treats to Eat

By: Finance Foodie

Ahhhh it's almost September - when kids leave the idleness and carefree spirit of summer and head back to school for a year of tests and learnings. Since I'm in grad school now, I get to experience this deja vu all over again - although this time around, going back to school is actually a vacation from the pressures of work (especially with the intense summer internships I've had)!

Hello Classroom!

Although school is a break from reality, I still find myself running around and busy like a bee - but instead of building financial models and writing research reports, there are club meetings to attend and homework problem sets to (half-heartedly) attempt. Therefore, when I find myself on campus all day with nary a meal or snack break, I rely on convenience items brought from home to get me through group meeting #10 of the day. Here are some of the items I always have handy in my big old bag of tricks.

PROBAR Meal and Snack BarsPROBAR is a healthy lifestyle, natural foods company that makes certified non-GMO, 100% vegan, certified organic snacks that are rich in raw ingredients. Unlike candy chocolates and other sweet treats, PROBAR’s raw, natural ingredients not only taste good but also give my body the needed nutrients and clean-burning energy to keep me on my toes when I get cold-called by my Professor after not reading last night's homework assignment. PROBARS come in three types:

PROBAR Meal-Bars: Available in over 15 flavors, these are PROBAR’s original and most popular whole-food, meal-replacement bars that totally satisfy my hunger (till snack time!). My favorite flavors? the sweet and savory Nutty Banana Boom and the tangy Superfruit Slam. A word of caution, at ~400 calories a piece, these are for sure meant to be meals and not snacks.

fruition: Every 150-calorie, fruit-dense, superfood snack bar in the fruition line is designed to deliver one serving of fruit. Chia seeds serve as one of the key ingredients, providing a between-meal boost of Omega 3. fruition is available in seven flavors and is certified gluten-free. Don't miss the citrusy Lemon and Cran-Raspberry flavors - my faves out of the 7 flavors.

HALO: HALO bars are the ideal, healthy alternative to satiate that craving for a candy bar. These snack bars come in four sweet flavors, such as my faves Rocky Road and S’Mores, and are packed with oats, flax seed and dark chocolate.

Cucina Fresca’s Gourmet Mac and Cheese
This frozen meal is an all-natural, convenient lunch or dinner option for busy students on the go. What makes Cucina Fresca Mac and Cheese different is that the pasta maintains its texture (and doesn’t overcook or get mushy). They achieve this by barely cooking the pasta before it's place in the packaging, so it actually cooks when you heat in the oven or microwave. The penne is cooked al dente to properly absorb the sauce when heated, which is unlike most packaged offerings. That way, the unique flavor of the cheese also gets absorbed into the pasta. The Smoked Gruyere is the best seller and there’s nothing like it on the market – the smokiness comes from Spanish smoked paprika.

Soyummi PuddingsSoyummi organic puddings are free of refined sugars, gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs. What really makes them different is that do not they sterilized their products using ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing to ensure that they maintain their natural nutritional balance and prebiotic benefits. My favorite out of the bunch? The creamy, classic and low calorie (~110 calorie / serving) Tapioca Pudding!

KRAVE Gourmet JerkyKRAVE Jerky is a healthy, anytime snack. For any student on-the-go, KRAVE Jerky presents all the benefits of meat that is easy to carry all over the place. Jerky is naturally loaded with protein, while the drying process both removes most of the fat and results in fewer carbohydrates.

PROBAR and financefoodie.com wants my readers to get healthy this school year with a box of fruition PROBARS and some grocery money to pick up the other items on my list! A Box of fruition PROBARS (ARV: $40) and a $20 Whole Foods gift cardThere are THREE ways to enter1. REQUIRED: In my comments section, tell me what item on my BTS meal and snack guide you are most excited to try. Also please include your email address so I can contact you if you win!2. Follow Finance Foodie on Twitter (leave separate comment telling me this)3. Reblog / Retweet this giveaway (leave separate comment telling me this)

Contest ends Friday, August 31, 2012 at 5pm EST. Winners will be chosen via random integer generator on random.org announced on the financefoodie.com site shortly afterwards!!

Full Disclosure: The box of fruition bars are being provided by PROBARS. Finance Foodie Media Productions purchased the Whole Foods gift card. I was not compensated for this post.